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  Commemorations for Tout 20 1. The Departure of pope Athanasius the Second, the Twenty-Eighth Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. On this day of the year 512 A.D., the righteous father St. Athanasius II, 28th patriarch of the See of St. Mark, departed. This father was the steward of the churches of Alexandria. When the holy father Abba Peter III departed, the bishops, elders and people agreed to ordain him patriarch for what was known of his Orthodox faith and knowledge. He was a pious man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. When he became patriarch, he shepherded the flock of the Lord Christ exceedingly well, and he protected them from the snatching wolves with his teachings and prayers. He sat on the episcopal throne for three years and nine months, then departed in peace. His prayers be with us. Amen     2. The Martyrdom of St. Melitina the Virgin. On this day also is the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Melitina the Virgin. Her prayers be with us.

  The Commemoration of St. Gregory, Patriarch of the Armenians On this day we commemorate St. Gregory, Patriarch of the Armenians, who became a martyr without bloodshed. He made himself a slave in the country of Armenia in the days of King Tiridates about the year 270 A.D. This king was not Christian. When he came into the temple to offer up incense to the idols, he summoned the saint to offer up incense with him, but the saint refused. The king inflicted upon him severe tortures and finally cast him in an empty pit. The Saint lived there for 15 years. Near the pit lived an old widow, and she saw in a vision someone telling her, "Make bread and cast it into this pit," and she continued to do this for 15 years. It happened that the king ordered the killing of the virgins Arbsima and Agatha, and their friends. After the killing he became exceedingly sad, because he wanted to marry St. Arbsima. He suffered a serious illness from which he did not recover until his

Tout 18: On this day, St. Prophorius, was martyred. He was a comedian and jester and was non-Christian. When Constance, the son of Constantine departed, Julian the Infidel, who was killed by St. Marcurius, reigned after him. This infidel and heretic was the nephew of Emperor Constantine, and he incited idol worshiping. Many of the believers were martyred on his hands. On his birthday, he gathered jesters, comedians, and people of the circus; Prophorius was one of them. The infidel emperor ordered him to imitate the Christians. When he came to the ritual of the holy baptism and made the sign of the Cross over the water in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Lord enlightened his mind and he perceived a divine grace coming down on the water and light shone from it. He immersed into the water three times, then went up and put on his clothes. He confessed that he became Christian. The emperor rebuked and threatened him. Then the emperor promised to give him many gift

   The Martyrdom of Saint Matruna. On this day St. Matruna, who was a maid-servant to a Jewish lady, was martyred. She was of Christian parents, and her mistress used to entice her to adopt the Hebrew religion, but she refused. Therefore her mistress used to humiliate her, ill treat her, and over-burden her with servitude. One day she accompanied her mistress to the Jewish temple, then she went to the Christians church. And when her mistress asked her where she had been and why she did not enter their assembly, the Saint replied, "God had departed far from the synagogue that is yours, how shall I enter it? Whereas the place that should be entered is the church which the Lord Christ has bought with His blood." Her mistress became angry at this and beat her harshly, then imprisoned her in a dark place where she spent four days without food or drink. She then took her out and beat her painfully, then she returned her to her imprisonment where she died. After her d

  The Martyrdom of Sts. Agathon, Peter, John, Amun and Amuna and Their Mother, Rebecca. On this day also, Sts. Agathon, Peter, John, Amun, and Amuna and their mother, Rebecca, were martyred. They were from Kemola of the district of Kus. Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to them and informed them of what would happen to them, and that they would receive the crown of martyrdom in the city of Shoubra which is near Alexandria, and that their bodies would be carried to the city of Nakraha in the province of El-Behairah. The Saints rejoiced at this vision, and they rose up early and gave all their possessions to the poor. Agathon, their eldest brother, was a man of high position in the city and was loved by everyone. Rebecca, their mother, strengthened and encouraged them to endure the torture in the name of the Lord Christ. They came to the city of Kus and confessed their faith in Christ before Dionysius, the Governor. He tortured them severely, starting with their mother who bore the torture